Municipal council (Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, the municipal council (Dutch: gemeenteraad) is the elected assembly of a municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the municipal executive and exercising control over its execution by the mayor and aldermen.

The municipal councils range in size from nine to 45 seats (as in Amsterdam, the capital city), depending on the municipality's population, and are elected by the population every four years. In many municipalities all major political parties contest in the election in addition to local parties. In most major, urban municipalities, all major parties are represented in the municipal council, while in smaller and more rural municipalities, only the largest parties and a local party have seats in the municipal council.